Literacy and Technology Showcase
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Benjamin Franklin
About My Showcase!
As I began my journey through the MAED program, I knew MSU would provide me the tools and skills to be a 21st century teacher—and of course, Michigan State never lets me down. Through the program, I have learned to incorporate new technology and reading inquiries into my own teaching practices. I learn how to make movies, podcasts, blogs, etc., but most importantly I learned to find the meaning in every lesson I teach. Here is a showcase of my journey through the MAED program highlighting some pieces of work that of which I am very proud to share with you.
SmartBoard Lesson
When I took CEP 800, I had never used a SmartBoard to teach. This course forced me out of my comfort zone and I made this lesson plan to teach place value to my 2nd
graders. As place
value had been
discussed in the classroom, it was during this interactive lesson that allowed me to take a step back and watch my students learn in a new setting, which was powerful and a lesson in itself! The lesson plan is extensive and thorough and also breaks down the lesson into WHY I am using technology to teach rather than just ‘using it to use it’!
Inquiry Presentation
Here is a slideshow that I created after researching
cooperative
learning
groups in the
classroom in
correlation to content learning. The topic was very interesting to me as a new teacher, trying to understand best practices and curriculum.
After viewing my presentation, I welcome you to read my reflection on the research I did on cooperative learning groups.
Money, Money, Money
This was one of my favorite creations during the program. It was my first video created and it directly combined student learning and teacher reflection. I had to change the strategies I was already using in the classroom and in the end was very proud of the outcome!
Audio Clip
Throughout a teacher’s busy day, it is easy to sometimes go through the motions. In creating this podcast, I had an ‘ah-ha’ moment realizing that too often we are teaching without listening to what the children already know or need to know. In this podcast, I learned what 7-year-olds
thought about migration
before I taught the unit.
Having this insight gave me the knowledge and information I needed to best help my learners be successful.
Repurposed Lesson Plan
During TE 831, Learning and Teaching with Technology
was the primary
focus. Because I was familiar by then teaching with the SmartBoard, I created a lesson on fractions for my repurposed lesson. A repurposed lesson is basically taking an everyday lesson and teaching it using technology. I research teaching fractions with technology and incorporated the SmartBoard into my lesson. I also included a reflection on my
lesson, which was and still is a very important part of my teaching practices.
A Digital Story
For TE 831, I created a video podcast. The purpose of this project was to tell a story using a technological format. I chose to create a mini-lesson on Landforms. The video has narration, text and visuals to enhance learning. When the vodcast was finished, I showed it to my 2nd graders and also shared it with 3rd grade teachers to use in their pre-lesson to landforms.
Analyzing Student Data
Here is a case study I wrote during TE 842. This course was all about literacy assessments and using assessment data to guide teaching practices. This best practice is used in my school; as a teacher, I constantly analyzing data and using the skills of a diagnostician to help see the weaknesses in my students and use my lesson plans to create literacy strengths. For this particular case study, I had to use information/data of an unknown child, as well as unknown assessments. This case study was
challenging and
rigorous, but also
made me feel confident in my abilities as a teacher.
Literature Classics
This is a reflective paper I wrote during TE 836 about the lessons I had but taught, but more importantly, the lessons I have learned!
In the course, I learned a lot about children’s literature, book awards, but I also learned about ‘lit classics’ which was that was most interesting part of the course to me. during TE 836, I feel I was really challenged to think about the meaning of a classic and in turn apply that meaning to my position statement.which is reflective of the course, the assignments, and the lessons I have learned.